‘If a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t reached by Thursday – the league’s deadline to start an 82-game season Nov. 2 – a larger portion of the schedule is expected to disappear. That could include the New Year’s Day Winter Classic between Toronto and Detroit, scheduled to be played in 110,000-seat Michigan Stadium.’

‘“It’s clear that we’re not speaking the same language in terms of what they came back to us with,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “It is still my hope that we can accomplish my goal, the league’s goal of getting an 82-game season, but I am concerned based on the proposal that was made today that things are not progressing. On the contrary, I believe the proposal that was made by the players’ association in many ways was a step backward.”’

‘“We believe we addressed the concern that players have about what happens to their salaries as a result in this year reducing the percentage from 57 to 50 percent,” Bettman said. “We had a number of significant elements that we believe can and should serve as the basis of a deal to get us playing hockey.”’

‘There’s a part of this offer that the players probably won’t like, but I love and really think is needed. There are too many loopholes in the current salary cap. The proposal would count salaries stashed in the AHL against the NHL cap. That means Shaone Morrisonn and Ales Kotalik would’ve counted against the Sabres cap last year, even though one was in Rochester and one was loaned to the Czech Republic.’

‘“We’re excited that talk has started, hopefully it can entice everything to have more and more discussion. I think the first view of it is that’s it’s a pretty fair deal and you hear what people are saying, but I think there’s a lot of detail in it that doesn’t really advantage the players that much.”‘

“Contacting us with Myers for six weeks now, he wanted to come right away, has checked with his friend Tyler Spurgeon about the KAC, now it worked,” said sports director Manny Viveiros, adding: “He was with me thanks that we give him the chance to come to Austria. He wants to develop here.”‘

‘”We had to respond to the injuries,” said sports director KAC Manny Viveiros. “And with Tyler us a good commitment succeeded. He is certainly in the next 10, 15 years, one of the top defenders in the NHL and wanted to come to Klagenfurt.’

‘“Who would have thought all this while growing up in the small town of Trois Rivieres, Quebec years ago using catalogues as shin pads, pieces of wood nailed together [as goals] and fantasizing one day of playing in the NHL,” said Robert, 63. “Never mind standing here one day 50 some-odd years later looking at this.”’